Fighting Obesity with No Money -- Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area

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New America Media, Video, Ann Bassette, Posted: Sep 20, 2011

Editor's Note: Altagracia Hernandez is raising two children with her husband on less than $2,000 a month. Access to affordable, healthy food is a challenge in East Palo Alto, Calif. and both kids are struggling with obesity.

Ann Bassette is a content producer at New America Media. This video was produced for Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area, a community forum held by New America Media, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health and Kidsdata.org.

 

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Anonymous

Posted Sep 22 2011

If someone would really wanted to help this woman, you would have absolutely different questions and look with different angle on it. For example: in all poor countries people fight not with obesity, but with hunger, with being too slim, not too fat. Only in the US too poor are too fat. Why is it so? Then next question: why two adults get less than $2000 ? Do they work? If yes, minimum wage is bigger. If not, why not? It's only in the US poor are those who live in 3 rooms for 4 people, who have electronics in the house... May be kids obesity has nothing to do with this family being poor? May be kids eat too much and mom doesn't know how to control it. Or she doesn't know how to prepare healthy food? Then may be it's better to teach kids at school not to how to use condoms at 8 grade, but how to eat healthy? How to earn and to use money?

Anonymous

Posted Sep 22 2011

If someone would really wanted to help this woman, you would have absolutely different questions and look with different angle on it. For example: in all poor countries people fight not with obesity, but with hunger, with being too slim, not too fat. Only in the US too poor are too fat. Why is it so? Then next question: why two adults get less than $2000 ? Do they work? If yes, minimum wage is bigger. If not, why not? It's only in the US poor are those who live in 3 rooms for 4 people, who have electronics in the house... May be kids obesity has nothing to do with this family being poor? May be kids eat too much and mom doesn't know how to control it. Or she doesn't know how to prepare healthy food? Then may be it's better to teach kids at school not to how to use condoms at 8 grade, but how to eat healthy? How to earn and to use money?

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